


One Month

by The_Sickfic_Sideblog



Series: Sick Klance [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Lactose Intolerance, M/M, Nausea, Sickfic, Vomiting, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 11:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10490415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sickfic_Sideblog/pseuds/The_Sickfic_Sideblog
Summary: Red tries to protect her paladin from everything. But sometimes she can't, and Lance has to step in.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pinstripedJackalope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/gifts).



“Red? Hey, Girl, it’s just Lance. I know I’m not your paladin, but can we talk?”

The Red Lion loomed, looking out of place with the towering trees surrounding her. Her size against the alien plants mimicked the size of Blue Paladin against her. It was true that Blue was bigger than her, but there was something much more ominous about how the Red Lion wouldn’t stop staring.

Lance very carefully put his hand on the barrier Red put up. It was like touching a glass dome, there was no way he was getting through to her without her consent.

“Red?” Still no response. Her eyes were still locked on him, but she made no movement. He would’ve preferred if she even took a swipe at him.

Lance sighed and knocked on the barrier a few times. Before he could turn around and start to think of another plan, the mechanical whirring of the Red Lion filled his ears. He looked back up at her. From behind her barrier, Red whipped her head and roared. The vibrations shook the barrier and the ground, rustling the alien birds from their homes. Almost every animal in the vicinity perked up and fled. Except for the human in blue paladin armor.

Pidge called out something in his helmet, but Lance shut it off immediately. He was getting somewhere, he couldn’t afford any distractions.

“Hey, easy...easy...” Lance ran his hand up and down the barrier, trying to soothe the giant metal beast, “I’m not gonna hurt you, Girl. You have your barrier up, I can’t hurt you. What’s the matter? We haven’t heard back from Keith in a long while. Is he alright?”

* * *

Voltron had yet again saved a civilization from Galra control. It was becoming a recurring theme in their lives between direct fights with Zarkon. Except this time, the assault was planet-wide.

The battle had been long and strenuous. With the castleship’s assistance, Voltron had “technically” won. The Galra had been driven off when their main weaponry was destroyed. But the paladins knew all too well that the Galra could come back. Whatever was on their planet, they were willing to sacrifice hundred and hundreds of men to defend. So while the planet below celebrated, the Lions kept a watchful eye on the skies.

While the lack of Galra returning was calming in one sense, it was terrifying in another. All of the paladins felt this. They Galra were gone, but for how long? Were they recovering? Had they fled for good? Or just gathering more forces for the second wave of fighting? When Shiro suggested they take shifts scouting the planet, everyone immediately agreed.

Hunk took to the skies first, followed by Shiro two hours later. When Hunk returned, Pidge took off. It became a ritual for the rest of the night, allowing the other three paladins to stay on the ground and relax. They’d fill up on celebratory food and drink, converse with the citizens, then take their watch. It worked perfectly until a paladin didn’t come back.

Lance had already taken off, tired of waiting for Keith to return. Of course, he was worried, but it was just like Keith to go off and brood for a few extra minutes. They still had Hunk and Shiro on the ground, and Pidge was still in the air. They would find him if need be.

* * *

 

_ Oh god, we can’t find him. _

It’d been an hour since anyone last heard from Keith. Everyone was panicked, especially Lance, who was having a hard time maintaining his composure over the intercom. His voice quivered every time Shiro asked for a status report.

He suspected the worst. He always did in times like these. Maybe the Galra had returned and whisked him away without a trace. Maybe the Galra had somehow completely destroyed Red, taking Keith with her. Maybe Red malfunctioned and went down, maybe he’d just disappeared-

_ “Guys, I found Red! She’s down on the south side of the planet, her barrier’s up. I haven’t heard from Keith yet, but Red seems to be completely intact.” _

Pidge’s voice in his helmet was a saving grace. Lance let out his breath that he didn’t know he was holding. Shiro called out instructions from the ground, but Lance was already turning Blue around and speeding towards the southern pole of the planet.

Blue arrived on the scene, skidding into the dirt far past her intended target. She bounded back, meeting the Green Lion’s eyes before looking at Red. As Lance dropped out of her mouth, both of them backed up a few mechanical steps. Something was clearly wrong.

Lance ran up to the barrier, where Pidge was pounding her fists against it. Ripples of energy exuded every time she hit, “Let us in! Where’s Keith?! Lance, help me try to get her barrier down.”

Red made no response. She had to be active, she had her barrier up, but she remained completely motionless.

Lance was immediately reminded of the paladin he was so close to. Keith would shut down and brood, not letting anyone in, especially by force. It was rare that anyone could get to him at all. But Lance had managed it. Lance could do it.

“Pidge, I need you to take off and get out of Red’s vicinity.”

The Green Paladin shot a confused look towards Lance, “Are you kidding me?! We have to figure out what’s going on! Red’s never done this before!”

“I know. But I think I can get to her. I promise I’ll radio you if it doesn’t work. We need to check for Galra around the planet anyway.”

Pidge didn’t like how calm Lance’s voice was, especially considering his boyfriend was missing. But over the span of being in both the Garrison and Voltron together, she learned to trust him like her brother. She sighed and stepped back.

“You get an hour. If I don’t hear from you by then, I’m coming back. Don’t do anything stupid.” She jogged back to her lion as Lance let out a small huff of a laugh.

“Me? Stupid? Never....”

When the Green Lion was out of eyesight, Lance took a deep breath. He shook out his arms, let his bayard drop to the ground, and approached the barrier again.

“Red? Hey, Girl, it’s just Lance. I know I’m not your paladin, but can we talk?”

* * *

 

“We haven’t heard back from Keith in a long while. Is he alright?”

For the first time since Lance arrived, The Red Lion made a movement. Her eyes flickered on and blinked a few times directly at him. He recognized this little quirk the lions had. She was trying to communicate properly.

“I’m not your paladin, I can’t-”

All of a sudden, Lance’s vision was whisked back into the Blue Lion’s eyes. He could see himself standing at the barrier, as small as a mouse compared to the lions. Red locked eyes with Blue and started speaking telepathically. It wasn’t English, but Lance could somehow understand it, just as he understood Blue for the first time.

_ Keith is inside. _

Lance felt himself sigh with relief.  _ What’s going on? Is he hurt? _

_ He is in pain. He is not injured. He tried to explain, but I did not understand. Perhaps a fellow human would. He said something about his body not producing enough of the human enzyme lactase. _

If Lance could facepalm, he would’ve. Blue was tempted to do it for him. Of all the things Keith could possibly scare him with, it had to be this. He  _ knew _ he tasted some kind of cream in the dinner the citizens provided them, but it was always a toss-up with alien foods.

Keith was always like this whenever he felt sick to his stomach, especially with his lactose intolerance. This wasn’t even the first time he’d hidden away. Luckily, Lance understood exactly how to handle him in this state.

_ Let me in, I can go in and- _

_ NO! _

Lance’s physical form took a step back. Even Red’s thoughts were overwhelmingly loud.

_ Dios, Rojo, eres tan obstinado como Keith!  _ He took a deep breath to calm his mind.  _ Red, I know you wanna protect him, but you’re....a giant metal lion. You can only do so much. Like, you’re really good at protecting him from lasers and Zarkon and stuff! But shielding him away from the rest of us doesn’t help his state right now. _

The Red Lion didn’t respond, but her mechanical spine lowered from it’s arced position.

_ And...I know it’s only been about a month...but I think Keith needs me right now. Could you let me in, Girl? _

There was a long pause before Lance’s consciousness reappeared in his human body. In front of him, a small hole in the barrier opened. Red dropped to her stomach and opened up a side door in her middle, allowing Lance to enter unscathed. Everything sealed up tight behind him.

Lance expected the inside of the Red Lion to be similar to his own. Blue was one of the legs of Voltron - she had to be very stable and powerful, and therefore had a small area in her middle for Lance to walk around in. The rest was filled with machinery - metal intestines and mechanical guts that powered her strength.

Red was different. She had to be light on her feet, fast, and easy to move. She still had wiring and plating all along her sides, but she was eerily open. Extra muscle would just weigh her down, leaving her empty. While Lance was a little disturbed by the implications of this, he was grateful. It was much easier to find Keith.

Lance went straight for the cockpit first, relieved that he made the right guess. Keith was off to the side of the control panel as if he’d gotten up out of his pilot's’ chair and only made it a few steps before collapsing. He was doubled over on his knees, arms wrapped tightly around his middle and gasping through the pain. He seemed to haven’t even heard Lance enter.

_ He didn’t even take his armor off... _ Lance thought, falling to his own knees in front of him.

“Keith? Hey, Keith.  _ Cariño _ .” Lance cupped his hand around one of Keith’s cheeks. The Red Paladin looked up, tears streaking down his face in agony. Though his eyes were swamped with pain, there was a tiny flicker of hope when he saw who was with him.

“L-Lance? How...-”

“Red let me in, she told me everything. How bad is it?”

Keith opened his mouth to respond but immediately clamped his jaw back down. He pulled his face away from Lance’s grasp and quickly brought up the celebratory dinner over both of their knees.

“ _ That _ bad...alright...” Lance took a breath, reminding himself that he could easily wash the suits later. Despite the emotional pain he felt each time Keith lurched, he knew this was ultimately a good thing. Keith would be in far less pain and could recover quicker without the lactose just sitting in his stomach. Still, that didn’t make Lance’s heart hurt any less.

_ No wonder Red was so upset... _

Lance tugged a small hairband from his wrist. He wouldn’t, no, couldn’t admit that ever since the two were romantically involved, he carried at least one around. He couldn’t admit that he asked Princess Allura to let him practice on her hair. He couldn’t admit that maybe he’d been waiting to show his skills at tying up pony tails - he just never expected the situation to be like this. With a few quick sweeps of his fingers, he got Keith’s hair up and out of the way. Now all he could do was wait.

“ _ Algunas veces estás tan estupido... _ ” He lightly scolded, knowing Keith wasn’t listening anyway. Both of them knew it was always easier to cope with pain - emotional or physical - with the other around, but for some reason, Keith kept running off the be alone. Lance would have to talk to him about it later.

As Keith coughed up the last few mouthfuls, Lance started to take off his paladin armor. Keith’s form quivered beneath it, sweat plastering his clothes and skin together. He threw the armor off to the side, leaving only the boots on Keith’s feet. He doffed his armor just as quickly, and as soon as he was sure Keith had finished throwing up, he brought him into his arms.

Keith immediately melted against Lance, limbs weak from the exertion. He only had a few moments of relief before his stomach cramped up again. He gritted his teeth and pressed his arms around his middle once more, unknowingly causing more discomfort than curing it. But Lance understood.

The Blue Paladin gently unwrapped Keith’s arms and placed his palm right on top of Keith’s navel. With slow movements, he started to rub in circles. “Why were you on the ground,  _ Cariño _ ?”

“...m-most comfortable...” Keith muttered, his voice barely above a raspy whisper. The acid burned his throat while coming up, leaving his voice weak and painful to use. But as Lance’s hand moved back and forth, a small sense of relief seeped into his muscles. He knew he still had more to get out of his stomach, but for now, he could relax. “Thank you, Lance....”

Lance smiled, his own muscles relaxing as well, “Of course,  _ Mi Vida. _ ”

“This....isn’t the best way to spend our anniversary....is it?”

The amount of guilt and heartbreak in Keith’s voice was something Lance hadn’t heard before. He pulled the Red Paladin closer. “We’ll celebrate when we get off this planet. You just need to rest right now, okay?”

Keith nodded and shut his eyes, letting his head rest on Lance’s shoulder. Lance hadn’t meant it literally but was perfectly fine letting his tired boyfriend take a nap on his shoulder. Before Keith could completely fall asleep, the rumbling steps of a lion approached. Lance heard the sound of Red’s barrier falling, and then metal clinking against metal. Blue sent him telepathic thoughts.

_ I will protect my Red as you will protect your Keith.  _

Lance’s eyes shut closed as he grinned. When they opened, they were in the eyes of his lion again. Blue was curled up around Red within her barrier, providing comfort for the crimson giant.

_ Is my paladin alright?  _ Red asked, her voice much more calm than defensive. But she was still just as frightened as she was before.

_ He’ll be alright,  _ Lance replied. Blue couldn’t smile, but he sent Red positive wavelengths,  _ He’ll be just fine. He just needs some rest. Thank you for letting me see him. _

The Red Lion went quiet for a moment, carefully calculating her next words.  _ You saved him. _

Lance chuckled a bit,  _ He wasn’t going to die or anything. _

_ Still. You saved him.  _ She paused again.  _ You have all of my gratitude. Thank you. _

In Lance’s physical body, he felt a low rumbling reverberate through his bones as if he were in a massage chair. A warmth started to come over him, not just from Keith fast asleep on his shoulder. It came from the metal he was leaning against. Back in his view from Blue’s eyes, Lance watched the Red Lion’s eyes power down. She was relaxing. She was  _ purring _ .

_ Keith mentioned something else _ , she considered,  _ He talks about you quite a lot. He said the two of you have been tightly emotionally bonded for over 730 vargas. I must congratulate you on that length of time. It’s quite long, for a human. _

_ 730 vargas... _ Lance did some quick mental math,  _ You mean a month, Red? _

_ I believe so. Happy One Month, Lance. _


End file.
